Road Speed and Modding MVs

[chris vickery]

Guys
I have recently entered into an online debate elsewhere regarding newbies whose first questions regarding MV purchase is "how can I make it go faster?"
For whatever reasons, this irritates me like crazy.
I am of the opinion that our heritage vehicles were engineered in such a manner that they were intended for certain roles. For the most part, HMVs are cumbersome, slow moving, torque driven monsters with a sole purpose to transport man, machine and cargo over rough terrain. As such, they were purposely built with low range gearing and with engines of limited horsepower for the era in which they were created.
Any of you who know me will understand that I am a purist at heart but not without reason.
I understand the addition of extra lighting, signage etc for safety reasons, to be seen. I can also see minor changes to get a little more out of our vehs without being extreme. Unfortunately I am troubled when I hear those words uttered as I know in the back of my mind that the new guy wants his old army truck to be a hotrod and this, my friends, is an accident waiting to happen and would certainly be detrimental to our hobby. Afterall, not every shade tree mechanic is an automotive engineer...
Am I over-reacting? Thoughts?

[maple_leaf_eh]

I am undoing a PO's mods - 1/4" holes on the fender lips for some sort of rubber flares, evenly spaced holes on the front bumper, two discrete holes on the bottom of the grill for the wires, mounted mud and snow tires, foam insulation residue in the strangest of places, 4" dia car radio speaker plates welded to the rollcage, a hole where the car radio used to be in the dash, a panel across the rear body (actually a smart way to keep stuff inside the body), and a modified civilian swing-out tire rack. Lots of 4x4 Jeep off-roading details which are all wrong for a stock M151A2. Not slagging the PO, just saying I own it now and this is what I want to drive.

[rob love]

For some, a bit more speed is no different than the added lighting and reflectors. Driving a Chev at 40mph on the highway can be dangerous if someone travelling the same direction ends up smackin your rear. (OK let the puns begin). I'm not saying the military vehicle has to go 60mph, but if perhaps slightly larger tires gives it a few more MPH, and still retains reasonable historical accuracy, then OK.

I drive my Jeep to and from work on any day that it's not raining. The highway I travel is posted at 90kmh, which means most are travelling 105. I only take the Jeep to 50-55mph (a bit under 90) so while I consider it reasonable, I am pretty sure the dozen vehicles behind me would rather I found a different route or a different ride.

[The Bedford Boys]

We put a Bedford K crownwheel amd pinion into a friends Bedford MW. The truck will now hit 60mph. Made it into a much nicer truck to drive, not that we go everywhere at 60mph, we really just wanted to be able to cruise at 45mph comfortably.. (35mph original top speed is a bit tedious in modern traffic). Im a bit of a purist myself, but I also think that as long as the vehicle is on the road, then history is still being kept alive

[Lynn Eades]

Rob, there is nothing wrong with being slow on the road. If I'm driving something slow, I regularly pull over to let others go by. If I'm in the car, I like to go as quick as I'm allowed.(sometimes plus a little.... Did I write that?) I then hate the inconsiderate B with 10 cars up his A with no intention of letting anyone through.
It's all about keeping left (or right) and exercising a little respect for the guy your holding up.

As far as modification goes, aside from handling issues, one of the issues with old M.V's. is braking. If you're going to increase the h.p, what are you intending to do about stopping the thing?
Some of these old vehicles were under braked at 30mph. It takes a lot more brakes to haul them up from 60mph. and they don't usually lend them selves to serious upgrading.

When I was in the army I remember seeing The brakes from an RL Bedford wrecker cooked like you wouldn't believe. It had another Bedford RL on a suspend tow. We have some steep hill ranges here. He was on a long descent and although the driver was supposedly trained to do the job he had not followed the rules. He'd let the rig go too fast, and if I remember correctly was lucky not to have been in a major accident.
Many of these old vehicles are fine to drive, empty, but load them up and they require a bit more skill and lots more patience.

[Keith Webb]

When I was regularly driving both the F60L or the C15A sigvan I used to think of the many cars behind as my "followers". I'd always let them pass when I could though.